Experimental activity in primary health care. A questionnaire survey among the participants in a preventive programme

The group practice project in Naestved is an experimental activity in primary health care with prevention of ischaemic cardiovascular disease as the object. Among individuals with blood-pressures in the risk zone, intervention was undertaken on the basis of measurement and registration of the other risk factors for the development of cardiovascular disease. As part of the assessment of the project, the experience, attitudes and satisfaction of the intervention group was investigated by means of a postal questionnaire. The percentage of replies received was 90 (corresponding to 372 individuals) and a analysis of those who did not reply revealed a preponderance of young persons among them. The survey revealed satisfaction with the searching nautre of the project in the form of sending of invitations to participate but less satisfaction concerning the level of information about the project. Only very few showed any interest in involvement of the home nursing service in the prophylactic work. Over half did not obtain support from their nearest contacts for participation in the intervention. The majority were satisfied with contact with the doctors involved. The risk factors involved in the project were considered to have considerable significance for the development of heart disease by the majority of persons replying and between 6 and 24% replied in the affirmative to questions on the influence of the project on the individual risk factors while nearly half expressed a positive attitude to the general benefit from their participation in the project. On the basis of the total results from the questionnaire survey, it is concluded that not all the original intentions of the project were fulfilled but that the offers had had been widely accepted in the intervention group and that a large group had a positive attitude to the concrete benefit obtained from the group practice project.